A 34-year-old man, Arogundade
Ahmed, has been arrested by the
Lagos State Police Command for
allegedly flogging his son to death.
According to eyewitnesses,
Arogundade tortured his 13-year-
old son, Qudus, to death because
Qudus broke into someone’s house
and attempted to steal.
Arogundade was said to have killed
his son in the presence of his little
sister, Sherifat.
After killing the boy, Arogundade
dug a grave and buried him in
front of his house in Alogba Estate
area of Ikorodu. (Above photo -
Arogundade’s house. Circle, the
grave)
Our correspondent, who visited the crime
scene, learnt that the incident occurred
on June 27, 2013.
It was leant that the deceased was an
apprentice at a mechanic workshop in
the area.
A senior police officer at Ipakodo Police
Division, who craved anonymity, said, “We
were told that on the said date, Qudus
broke into the house of one Apoti Lateef
and attempted to steal. Lateef raised the
alarm, accosted the boy and then called
his (Qudus) master, Idowu Gabriel.
“Gabriel and Lateef said they tied up the
boy and then called his father to take him
away.”
Our correspondent learnt that
Arogundade took the boy home and then
beat him up with barbwire, sticks and
other objects for about five hours.
As the beating continued, Qudus started
getting weak and later died.
According to eyewitnesses, on seeing that
Qudus had given up the ghost,
Arogundade called a grave digger to bury
his corpse.
An eyewitness, Adekunle Adekoya, told
PUNCH Metro that no one could
intervene when Arogundade was beating
up his son because Arogundade was a
hot-tempered man.
He said, “He (Arogundade) is hot-
tempered. When he brought his son
home around 12pm, he beat him till
about 5pm. The boy kept on screaming
and we could do nothing to save him
because we did not want his trouble.
“Some neighbours were also around at
the time but no one wanted to interfere.
After sometime, the boy just went
unconscious. We did not know he was
dead. It was when I saw a man digging a
grave in front of Arogundade’s house
around 7.30pm that I knew the worst had
happened.
“I immediately called the Lagos State
Emergency telephone number but no one
came.”
The traditional leader of the community,
Oludapo Sule, said he reported the
matter to the police as well as members
of the Oodua People’s Congress.
He said they were able to apprehend
Arogundade at midnight.
He said, “I received an anonymous call
on the day of the incident and the caller
told me that a man had killed and buried
his son in front of his house. I was able
to meet with the landlords in the area,
who confirmed the incident to me
“So, at midnight, he was picked up and
taken to the police station. The matter
has been transferred to the State
Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba
and I have written my statement.”
Sule however urged the police to ensure
that Qudus’ corpse was exhumed and
given proper burial.
Chairman, Alogba Estate and Palapo
Town Community Development
Association, Mr. Agboola Aluko, said
Arogundade had been terrorising the
community for quite some time.
He said Arogundade had inflicted
machete cuts on Qudus before and had
even threatened to kill members of the
community.
He said, “Arogundade had beaten Qudus
with a machete before and even almost
killed his wife. That was why she divorced
him. Even when he was being arrested,
he threatened to deal with anyone who
spoke against him.
“I have settled many disputes in this area
caused by Arogundade. Even women in
the area are scared of him. We have
reported his bad behaviour to the police
before.”
Arogundade, however, said he did not kill
his son. He said his son was merely
beaten after he was accosted for stealing.
The police statement on the incident
read, “Upon his arrest, Arogundade said
he did not kill his son. He said he
(Qudus) was almost dead when Lateef
and Gabriel handed him over. He said his
son died soon after and then buried his
corpse in front of his house and went to
bed.
The police source said, “We have also
arrested Lateef and Gabriel but they
claimed they only tied up the boy and did
not kill him. Investigations are ongoing.”
When contacted on the telephone, the
spokesperson for the state police
command, Ngozi Braide, said she would
call back.
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